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_Vogue'_s Pregnancy Survival Guide: The Beauty Edition

I’ve never been much of a beauty buff, but since becoming pregnant in October, I’ve been able to reel off the synthetic compounds found in most shampoos or body moisturizers as easy as A, B, C. Suddenly, an act as simple as cleansing my face seemed akin to baptizing my unborn child in parabens. Painting my nails? A questionable encounter with formaldehyde. It wasn’t that I was developing prenatal paranoia, just that an unfamiliar wave of maternal responsibility had begun to wash over me with every squirt of my beloved Kiehl’s shower gel (which, a quick inspection of the label revealed, did contain parabens after all).

While the jury is still out on the impact of chemicals like phthalates, sulfates, petroleum, BHAs, DEA-related ingredients and (yes) parabens on fetal health, the fact that they were even up for debate left me feeling uncomfortable. I decided to retire any ingredient that had raised a reasonable pregnancy-related concern for now. So after a month of typing “pregnant + safe + …” into Google, I put that plan into action. I temporarily shelved my Dermalogica face wash (more parabens), the beloved Nivea Soft moisturizer that I’d used since I was thirteen (synthetic fragrance), and my Biolage Deep Smoothing shampoo and conditioner (salicylic acid). As benzoyl peroxide and retinol are also on the list of things to avoid, that meant steering clear of Oxy’s Spot Treatment and giving up Dermalogica’s Age Reversal Eye Complex. All of these former beauty essentials—along with my favorite Nuxe Huile Prodigieuse Multi-Usage Dry Oil and Chanel Black Pearl polish—were reluctantly stashed away in a drawer and replaced with a lineup of new and unfamiliar brands.

Weeks of trial-and-error testing soon revealed the very best. Among them: Nine Naturals Pregnancy shampoo and conditioner (100 percent natural and moisturizing enough to keep my thirsty strands glossy), Rahua Voluminous Spray, Clarins Tonic Body Treatment Oil (women have used this pure essential oil blend as a viable stretch-mark savior as far back as the seventies) and Avène Rich Compensating Cream (to combat the flaky, dry patches that had started to emerge on my face). I even hunted down a set of nontoxic nail brands—Kure Bazaar and Zoya—that offered glossy, pitch-perfect polishes free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP, and synthetic camphor.

At some point after my pregnancy is over, I’m looking forward to getting back to my favorite Nuxe, Dermalogica, and Kiehl’s products—but I’m also planning to stick with many of my thoughtful new beauty discoveries. Baby or not, they make me feel better about the ingredients that I may be absorbing through my skin—and my bathroom shelf looks more enticing than ever.